My sister stares at us with wide eyes, unsure what to do. She hates conflict more than anyone and avoids it at all costs.
Gracie begins to wail through the baby monitor, clearly having gotten woken up by our loud argument. “Great! You woke her up!”
“I didn’t wake her up! You’re the one who’s been screaming at me since you came down here!” Emma calls out loudly.
“Because you fucking deserve it!!!”
Aubrey stands from her seat quickly. “I’ll check on Gracie,” she says before hightailing out of the room.
My body vibrates with rage, and I feel the need to break something. I pass my fingers through my hair furiously and pull on the ends, closing my eyes and breathing heavily through my nose as I try to control my temper. But it’s no use, nothing is working.
“Fuck… fuck… FUCK!”
My hands leave my hair, and I grab the first thing in reach, pulling my arm back and sending it sailing across the room withall my strength. It smashes against the wall and shatters into a million pieces.
It isn’t until I see the shards lying on the ground and hear Emma’s desperate cry that I realize what I’ve just done. What exactly I just threw.
In my fog induced rage, I grabbed Emma’s coffee mug…
Her sunflower mug.
Em rises from her stool slowly, eyes fixed on her broken mug. She takes cautious steps toward it as tears run freely. She drops to the floor in front of the pieces, not caring about the splinters surrounding her, and reaches into the pile, picking up a single piece, bigger than the others.
The sunflower.
Oh, no… fuck… shit, shit, SHIT! What have I done?!
Somehow it survived the crash. An earth-shattering sob bursts from her lips before she covers her mouth with her hand to silence it. Her body shakes violently as she kneels there crying.
“Oh fuck… Em… I-I didn’t mean to… shit… I’m so sorry…” I stare with wide eyes, unsure what to do or say.
At the sound of my voice, her whole figure freezes up. She straightens her back, lifting her head high as she rises from the ground. With the piece still in hand, she walks over to the island and stops on the opposite side, facing me.
Her eyes are locked on mine, but what I see looking back at me isn’t the Emma I know. I see it. All her walls I’ve broken down over the last six months have built themselves back up and solidified instantly.
She’s shut me out. Locked herself in her castle and thrown away the key.
My heart shatters as I realize the damage I’ve done. As every word I’ve spat at her out of fury comes back to me.
In the calmest voice I’ve ever heard leave her lips, she says, “I’ll stay on as Gracie’s nanny until you either find someone elseto work full-time or hockey season is over. Then I’m done.” With that, she turns on her heels and walks away.
“Wait, no, Em. Please, I… I’m sorry, okay? I’ll fix it… Bunny… I didn’t mean to!” I spurt out after her, panic lacing my voice.
But she’s already gone.
Chapter thirty-six
Emma
Dick pics.
I stride up the stairs as calmly as I can, even though my face is streaked with tears and I can barely see in front of me, let alone breathe properly. When I get to the landing, Aubrey is just stepping out into the hall with Gracie in her arms.
She takes one look at me, and I see the pity in her eyes.I hate it.“Em… he didn’t mean all those things he said. Grey just lashes out and loses control when he’s too emotional… Tonight was a lot for him, for both of you.”
“It doesn’t matter if he meant them or not. He still said it. So somewhere, deep down, that’s how he truly feels.There’s always a bit of truth in every lie.”I look down at the yellow ceramic sunflower in my hands, the pad of my thumb running over the glossy finish. “It’s what my grandfather always said.”
“That’s not true, Em. Sometimes people say things out of anger because they’re hurting, knowing it will hurt the other. Simply because they want someone else to feel what they’re feeling. But that doesn’t make their words true.” She steps forward and reaches out for my hand, but I lift it, palm facing her.
